Full Moon Dating staff chart

I love infographics

Check out the Full Moon Dating Re-release here! All four volumes out now at one really low price.

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Julia

Did y'all know I write as Minerva Howe, too?

Check her out here!

Publishers. It's not okay to not pay...

I'm not sure what's worse.

A publisher who continues to sell your books and blithely refrains from sending statements and checks while telling you they can't revert your books due to the volume of sales, or a publisher that takes down your titles when you ask, then sends you a statement for your 2nd to last quarter of sales telling you that you sold over 1000 copies of the book you released that quarter and then not paying you for them.

I know which one makes me angrier right now, since with the statement I know how much money I'm getting fucked out of, and you know, a family member being the one to bend me over and fuck me with a chainsaw.

Sigh. Either way I am not chilled, and I want to say, as someone who never once failed to pay out royalties owed, it's not brain surgery. It's also not cool to sit back and say, "Well, I got paid, so I don't care if publisher X is 20K behind in payments to other people." I said that about EC when it all first started and I say it now. I have one title left to get back from them, and I'll keep plugging at it.

Torquere LLC is still pretending all is well. Author beware. It's not. It's not okay not to pay and to owe as much as they do to at least three authors. When our money is all used up who do you think will go down in flames next? I can guarantee, as the one who used to write those checks, I know what order y'all will start to get screwed in.

I'm sorry if I can't be positive, but I also can't just let this go. I depend on my publishers to pay me so I can live. Samhain, Changeling, All Romance Ebooks, Resplendence and Dreamspinner, thank you for being honest and doing good business.

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Julia

re-release of Gentleman of Substance

Hey y'all!

I'm getting around to re-releasing some of my older titles that I had to pull from the Publisher Who Has Not Paid, and this is one of my very favorites. I wrote Michael and Daniel years ago, and rushed through them a little to fill a hole on the publication calendar. So, while I didn't add a lot, I went through with an editor, took out some deadwood, added a few deleted scenes and tightened them up. I think I also made their time period, which is post Revolution America, a little more clear. Fashions were transitioning from powdered wigs and side panniers to pre-Regency, but change was slow in rural Virginia.

Anyhoo, I love this book and OI hope y'all do, too. It's on sale for 3.99 at All Romance Ebooks here, and regular price at 4.99 on Amazon and Nook.

Michael St. James hates tidewater post-Colonial Virginia with a passion. Banished there thanks to an ill-timed duel, Michael is bored with the countryside, and thinks his new companions are poorly-educated boors. What he needs is a challenge, something to stimulate his mind. Which is why, when Michael meets Daniel Calhoun, he takes such an immediate interest.

Daniel Calhoun is a gentleman farmer who has no time for the social niceties demanded by a man of his station any more than he has patience for changing fashion or politics. When he sees Michael St. James, Daniel sees a man with no substance, and he’s certainly not interested in becoming friends, or more, with the irritating man. There’s more to Michael than meets the eye, as Daniel soon discovers, and the two embark on a scorching affair that might just be the ruin of both of them. Can they find a way to be together, or will Daniel and Michael be forced to hide what they feel?

This title has been previously published under the same title. 2000 words have been added to the text.

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Julia

PBR ABQ bull riding

I do love me some bullriding. Guilherme Marchi is my very favorite.

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Julia

Coming Soon: Full Moon Dating re-release

Hey y'all!

Look at the smokin' hot cover.

The four stories are Aiden and Ben, Coy and Denver, Evgeny and Feng and Gage and Hamish. I hope to have the next book in over the next couple of months so y'all have something new to read! I'm thinking Isaiah and Jameson now but that's always subject to change.

The book is on pre-order now for release April 1!

Clicky here!

None of these first four stories have changed significantly, though they have had another round of proofing. Still, if you want them all in one place, this is your time!

dreary weather means good writing time

It's windy and cold and gross. After days of 70 and sunny it's 46 and so windy it's whistling out there. Whoosh, bang, grrr.

Means good writing though. Added a couple thousand words to a reprint I want to put out. Am working on a men in uniform call for ARE. Annnnd one for TEB. O.O

Did y'all know we have a newsletter? Me and the wife, BA Tortuga. We do giveaways every month.

Go sign up. Clicky linky!

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Julia

Fighting the Good Fight Can Make Me Tired

I try not to get down about watching something I loved and worked so hard on go down the toilet. I really do. No, a certain author has never gotten paid. Yes, proceedings have begun on this. This is not something she can do in small claims. This almost is twice the limit of what small claims court can handle. And to see someone still going on using my friend and colleague's (and mine, as I have yet to see a payment for 4th qtr) money to keep up pretenses? Makes me furious. And tired. And so, so sick of trying to walk the line between keeping my mouth shut for legal reasons and wanting to shout it all to the world.

I am heartsore, y'all. And ready for this to be over.

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Julia

DSP author workshop

New release: One and Only Bear!

Hey y'all

Your next book boyfriend might be a fireman. Or a phone psychic. Or a bear

One and Only Bear from ARE find it here!

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Julia

PS 101 days, and Sean Michael? Not paid by TQLLC

Wherein I rant about the inherent gender bias and hetero-normative lingo in the romance community

***Rant warning ahoy. I am PISSED OFF***

I have been a GLBTQ romance writer, and was a publisher, for a long time. I wrote my first f/f story in high school (class of '88 what up?) and I was published in my first gay romance anthology in 2002. My first m/m novel came out in 2003. I have fought the good fight, as a mostly lesbian writer (I fall closer to bi on the Kinsey scale than my wife, but I'm definitely queer) writing romance fiction, to find equality and acceptance for all people in the romance community, gay, straight, bi, trans or asexual. Hell, I've written moose romance. No, not shifter. Just moose.

So believe me when I tell you that nothing ***NOTHING*** disappoints me more than getting an email chock full of advice on how to sit down and shut up in the romance world.

That's right. Grit your teeth, wear a nice dress, and do your make-up and no one in the greater romance world will be mean to you. If they are, just don't tell them you write gay! It will be fine.

Now, I am a huge champion of getting LGBTQ romance to stop being listed as a "genre". My genres are paranormal and historical with a few contemporary bdsm type books. I want queer romance to just be romance. But I refuse to stop looking like a lesbian in order to make people comfortable. I refuse to pretend that people have not asked me at every con I attend, including the supposedly gay romance one, "Why do YOU write m/m? You don't even like dick," because I'm married to a woman.

I go into every opportunity to meet readers of romance with a smile on my face. My attitude is great, even if my inner introvert wants to run and hide. But I refuse to cower behind the hetero-normative language and accept the gender bias running rampant right now in my chosen field. So don't send me an email that dismisses men writing romance, along with trans people or bi people, or anyone not comfy in a pretty dress and lipstick. And the closest thing I own to formal wear is the rainbow skirt I wore to my wedding. Cotton jersey, thanks.

Don't tell me to sit the fuck down and shut up. It hasn't worked at any point in my life, and it's so not gonna work now.

XXOO

Julia

re-publishing some old titles and one new- Bloodrose

Hey y'all!

Most of y'all know now that I pulled my whole backlist from my old company. I had to for various reasons, and it's been killing me, but I'm starting to get a plan in place for re-releasing my old titles. The Full Moon Dating stuff will come back out with ARE in April. The Bloodrose stuff I'm redoing myself, and I just put out An Itch to Scratch, The Werewolf Code, Belling the Cat and Emerald Eyes in a collection called Thorns. I'm tickled to death with the new cover by Kris Norris, and while I didn't make a lot of changes, I cleaned up typos etc. (This one hasn't got any new content but Emerald Eyes was only up for about 4 months)

Print book will be up this week in case anyone wants that! Linkee soon.

The ebook is available here:

Amazon

ARE

Also on Nook and soon on Kobo.

Thanks for all the patience and support.

XXOO

Julia

what the hell, universe? aka medical shit you have to see to believe

Most of y'all know I'm married to BA Tortuga, m/m author extraordinaire.

Recently, she got a diagnosis of a super rare autoimmune disorder. It's a form of vasculitis that closes off major arteries sort of randomly. The therapy for this is the chemo drug methotrexate. Yeah. So we've had some fun with the new normal, which includes nausea and extreme tiredness. And then we went to the eye doctor. Okay, so now laser treatments and injections. Then I got my root canal and crown, and now I have to go to the podiatrist for a big old blood blister that won't heal.

Now, I know someone(s) out there who would say our karma is the reason behind this. Because, you know, we're such big mean girls. Well, at the risk of offending anyone I don't actually want to offend, fuck that. So, I ask the universe, what am I meant to be learning here? I'm ready to figure it out ;)

In better news, my sugars are finally coming down, and my girl's kidneys are not on the arteritis chopping block.

Good thoughts are all appreciated.

PS: 81 days. Sean Michael has still not been paid #notchilled

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Julia

One and Only Bear on Presale!

Check it out here!

It's the second Grizzly List book, and it's so much fun!

XXOO

Julia

Also, my last blog post is here. No, the situation is not resolved. It's about to hit the fan, too.

Setting the record straight regarding my former company

Hey y'all

You may have seen some recent stuff on my FB about the company I used to own.

Here's what I have to say. I am not now and have I ever been involved with Torquere Press LLC. I was co-owner of Torquere Press Inc. and I closed that business in Dec 2014. I made all of my final payments, and I turned over the rights to the TQ name to someone I thought I could trust. I was wrong.

This is not a family squabble. This is not about creating drama or can't we all just get along. This is about non-payment of an author for 70 days beyond the contracted period of 60 days past the end of the quarter. This is not about a check on which payment was stopped. This is about a check marked NSF. You cannot arbitrate criminal actions, and bouncing checks is a federal crime. This is not about "being reasonable". Stealing from an author is wrong, and while no, I am not the injured party, I am well aware of all of the facts of the situation, and I would feel absolutely remiss in not warning my fellow authors and the GLBT romance community I love so much to beware. This situation is reaching the levels of EC smoke blowing, and it kills me to see something I created take this kind of a hit.

While there is, completely by coincidence, a J Talbot still associated with Torquere Press LLC, that is not me. Talbot is the pseudonym I chose 15 years ago, and the current J Talbot at TQ is the victim of circumstance there. I have thought recently about changing my pseudonym for the sake of distance, but I have too much time and effort invested in my long career to make that kind of change now. However, there is no reason my legal name should in any way be associated with Torquere Press LLC.

Anyone who knows us from the old days of TQ knows we never took part in public drama, so to be accused of doing this out of spite is ridiculous. I will not be threatened into being quiet. I can't do it. I just can't. Pay your authors, publishers, and just avoid this problem.

Julia, aka Lorna

Coastal Magic round up

Pics from coastal magic! 

I'll have a written recap when my brain works again..

Damon Suede and Sean Michael 

My girl BA at a panel

BA and Kiernan in cock flops

Me and BA at the book signing 

Rainbow butt plug! 

The amazing lunch bunch!

My table at the signing

On the way home

Lord we look tired. Me and Damon suede on Sunday after many days of conning 

Old English Cheese and Mogen David concord wine

What do those two things have in common with cranberry jelly and celery sticks?

My wife was talking the other day about generational memory. About how her parents were 10-15 years younger than mine had been, even though she and I were the same age.

My dad was born in 1932. He stood in line with ration tickets for WW2 and was drafted at the end of Korea. He wore brown shoes in the army not black and his music was all from the late 1940s and early to mid 50s.

So my memories are colored by that. My wife can remember her mom wearing miniskirts and long hair, and her folks listening to 70s music. By the time the 70s came around, my parents were having their last baby not their first and they'd both stopped listening to pop music.

It's the difference between Mogen David concord wine, which my folks thought was the height of class, and wine in a box, which was BA's mom's wine of choice. Old English cheese spread. My dad loved it on celery. All of our juice glasses are made from the jars. We ate it at New Year's on saltines with pickles. BA's mom and dad both like block cheese cut up with grapes and maybe crackers on the side. My mom thought TV dinners rocked. I've never seen BA's folks eat one.

Every so often someone will tell me I'm old fashioned, even for someone my age. And I smile and nod and say yep. It's a family thing.

XXOO

Julia

New Release! Midnight Rodeo: Belonging

Woo!

The sequel is finally here!

A few years back, Kiernan Kelly, BA Tortuga and I put out Midnight Rodeo's first book, Homecoming. We recently republished that book on our own, and now we have the sequel, Midnight Rodeo: Belonging.

Look at this cover by the amazing Kris Norris!

Strangely enough, I'm not responsible for the tiger shifter on the cover. That's BA Tortuga. I wrote a cheetah shifter and a spirit guided rodeo rider named Raven Walkingman.

You can buy it here at ARE and here at Amazon!

And here's a bit from my story, Light a Rocket. Special thanks to Jaymi for being our amazing editor.

“Rocket, you cannot keep this up, kid.” Thack, the head of all things in the arena, looked bitchy on the best of days, but the stock contractor was positively livid. The huge black horns curving over his head actually sort of pulsed. Cool. Terrifying, but cool.

“Keep what up?” Rocket went for innocent. It wasn’t his best look, but it was rare enough around these parts that he thought it could work.

“Kid, you weigh, what? Eighty pounds?”

“Stop it. I’m at least a buck and a ten-spot.” Pretty much.

“You can’t bulldog. You can’t do the timed events. Stop being a turd with a death wish. You rile up the stock.”

Rocket tried hard not to let his hurt show. Or his panic. He had to make some money. Had to. “I’m not trying to upset anyone. I’m bulking up, I promise.”

“Bulking… okay. Okay. You get one more chance, but the physics say it can’t work.”

“Physics say the girls can’t ride the barrels and they sure as shit do.”

“Mmm.” Thack was good at the noncommittal noise. “Well, just do me a favor and don’t get hurt.”

“Right. I’m on it. Totally.” Hell, he wasn’t sure his three broken ribs were ever going to recover. They did tend to stick out. Rocket was a cheetah shifter. Ribs were a thing.

“I’m serious. One more catastrophe on the timed events and I’m sending you to Eshelman.”

The shifter doc was… intense. Difficult, at best. Strict. Rocket just nodded, feeling like a bobble head doll.

He slunk passed the bullfighters, the scary as all fuck ghost riders, and then headed to his truck. He thought he was safely out of everyone’s way, which was naturally when he slammed right into a solid, lanky body.

“Whoa, kiddo. Watch where you’re putting those boots down.” Raven Walkingman caught his upper arms when he bounced.

“I. I—”

Oh, God. God. That was— He’d just bumped into…

Right. Breathe. “Sorry.”

That bronze face split into a wide, white smile, the king of the Midnight Rodeo not seeming at all put out. “No problem. Rocket, right?”

“Yeah. Yes, sir. Rocket Ugara.” He held out his hand, the urge to sniff this man overwhelming. He panted a tiny bit, his usual reaction to stress more than a little embarrassing.

Walkingman shook his hand, making shivers run up his arm and down his back. Hello.

His kitty purred inside him, its tail lashing, and he had the urge to do his best sexy dance. Rocket fought that compunction, but he couldn’t cover it completely, obviously. Walkingman’s nose quivered, and he grinned wider.

“You riding tomorrow?” Rocket asked. He had to stop being an idiot. You didn’t come onto the most famous cowboy in their world. It didn’t happen.

“I am. What about you?” Walkingman let him go, the lack of touch such a disappointment.

“Gotta make my pennies, so yeah. Totally.”

“Well, watch those ribs. I was you, I’d sit out the bulldogging this week.”

“Yeah. Thack was pretty clear about that.” Still, he needed to get enough cash for gas to make it to the next event and pay his entry fees.

“Then why are you still doing it?” The man sounded genuinely curious.

“Same reason every broke-dick cowboy does it, I reckon.” And didn’t he feel about two inches tall admitting that?

blog planning fail

I am, at best, a lazy blogger. My wife, who is a planner addict and who has led me into the washi tape obsession by the nose, has all these cute printable sheets on how to plan your weekly blogs.

I dutifully fill out what I will pimp, pin and pump during the week. I plan to blog 3 days a week with wordless posts in between. I pick subjects relating to my books but not actually mention them, which all the social media gurus say is important. Content! Original content with a hook! Do it NOOOOOW.

Ahem.

Then I open Blogger and write whatever the hell I feel like anyway. Not kidding.

My latest planner. 

What are the odds I just shove everything in my purse before we leave?

XXOO

Julia

Geeking out with BA

So, my girl is an X Files fan. Like whoa. I stubbornly resisted watching the show when it was on, and for a very long time I only saw one episode. Monday, it's called, and it's about Mulder getting out of bed and going to the bank the same way over and over, just like me seeing it over and over. Like Groundhog Day.

So, a few years ago, she finally got me to watch a marathon. The first 4 seasons or so. We were in a groove, and I was enjoying watching her watch the show, but we had to travel, and we never got back to the moment.

Tonight the X Files came back on for a 6 show mini-series. OMG y'all. My girl is excited, Geeking out. The football game running over almost killed her. She pouted at every evidence that Mulder and Scully were on the outs. She cheered when Skinner showed up. She bounced a lot.

I may not be an X Files geek, but I do love how my girl loves it.

XXOO

Julia

public service announcement on some titles

Hey y'all!

I've had some folks emailing me about some of my series, mainly Bloodrose and Full Moon Dating. They're no longer available on Torquere Press LLC or on Amazon because I have reverted all of my TQ LLC titles as of Saturday. I see my books are still up on All Romance Ebooks, but I am asking folks not to buy the Torquere titles at this time. My wife would like to ask the same, as she has also pulled her titles there.

I will be re-releasing both series asap. I'm very excited about taking these series to whole new levels. I gave up publishing over a year ago to write full time, and sad as it is I've now moved away from working with the company altogether. I used to write to fill holes in a production schedule, but now I can write these stories for the sake of the stories themselves and really explore the dynamics of how such long series fit together.

Change is always difficult, and sometimes it's downright sad. No matter what, I'm proud of my work and I want to find it the best home possible, whether it's self-publishing or going with another publisher to continue the series.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about my books, and keep an eye out here for announcements about when specific books will re-release.

XXOO

Julia

Love Apples

Maybe four years ago I sold a story to a publisher we all know. I wanted to make it a series, call the series Love Apples, call this story Apples for Teacher...

They loved the book, hated the title, wanted something more indicative of a menage. They gave it to an editor, and she stripped out everything of Julia. By this time I'd been in the business ten years, but I needed that contract with a big publisher so I did the edits and gritted my teeth.

I did okay. Until I stopped getting paid. Checks stopped coming, and I waited patiently until I was under the sales threshold to ask for my rights back. I waited six more months. Next month I get the book back and Love Apples is back on. I can't wait to put me into the story once more and update it, maybe make it novel length and add in all the wolfpack and small town politics I wanted in it! Then I'll self pub that mother.

They still have Lovers of Her Dreams, but I'm working on that.

One down, one to go. How bout them apples?

XXOO

Julia

so many stories, so little time

what I'm working on now

desperately trying to hit my deadline on my Dreamspun Desire due the end of the month and Desert Dragons 4 due last week

a call for ARE- writing a historical mmf menage

I scrapped my latest project for Samhain. Do I write a historical or a paranormal? Werebears or rakehells? Y'all choose for me. Needs to be a m/m so I actually sell some copies and they keep pubbing me ;)

XXOO

Julia

life's curveballs

I had all these grand ideas about what all I was going to get accomplished this year. This was the year of the novel instead of the short or novella. The year of the USA Today bestseller and contract with Penguin or Avon a la some of the folks I know in m/m.

It may still be for all I know, but as of right now this will be the year of the diagnosis. When BA had her angioplasty last April we were so sure we could fix what ailed her with diet and exercise. Now we know it's a rare autoimmune thing. The treatment? Low dose chemo. Yeah. So she feels as though all the work she did was for nothing and I feel panicky and read to poke people with a stick for breathing hard on her.

We have to remember that we're not Wonder Woman, that we can slow down and listen to our bodies.

The rest will work itself out

Right?

XXOO

Julia

Unexpected research for the week

marriage announcements in Regency London

How many Navy SEALS are in service at any given time

Can a Texas Ranger really requisition a horse. (A: Yes. So can a DEA or Border Patrol agent.)

do they make rainbow unicorn dildos?

what are the best nausea remedies for low dose chemo

how much do virtual assistants charge?

Never a dull moment

XXOO

Julia

Happy New Year!

Woo.

XXOO

Julia

Things I'm looking forward to in 2016: A list

Sherlock! The Abominable Bride. Jan 1 on PBS. Then Jan 5 in the theater

Changeling Press has graciously allowed me to start compiling the Elemental Ops and Desert Dragons books into print volumes, which I'll self pub. I hope to have El Ops for Coastal Magic! Eeee.

Setting new intentions for the year. I actually love to revisit what I wanted to accomplish in a year, whether I did or not. I like to look forward, too, armed with new challenges.

New places to travel. I've never been to Daytona Beach or San Diego. Been to Vegas and Orlando, but there's always something new to see there, right?

The challenges of both me and my wife living with chronic injuries and illnesses are ongoing, but I;m confident that we'll overcome. Or at least fight like tigers.

ALL THE NEW STORIES

I have so many ideas I'll never die, y'all

Not if I have to get them all out first.

What are you looking forward to?

XXOO

Julia

Best thing you can give an author for Christmas

I had a great Christmas.

I want to thank everyone for that. This is mainly a thank you to the readers for the best present ever, which was An Alpha in Sheep's clothing spending a week at #1 on All Romance ebooks. I've made it into the top 40 on all of its categories on Amazon, too, which is a huge happy making thing for me. I loved writing the story so much because it's really all about wolf culture. Rand and Tate are both perfectly honest about why they start a relationship, and it was fun to see them progress from a pure business arrangement to something more.

If you're still in the mood for magic, give Rainbow Brew a try, a co-write by me and BA! Clicky!

Love y'all!

XXOO

Julia

Almost Christmas

New release: An Alpha in Sheep's Clothing

Sing a song of accidental alphas and total bottom boys...

That would be An Alpha in Sheep's clothing. My first self pub that's not a reprint. Thanks to the amazing J for her very professional edit, to my betas and to Kris Norris for the awesome cover!

Which is here!

Here's the link to All Romance

And Amazon

Here's the official blurb!

Rand never sets out to find trouble. He’s a lone wolf and he likes it that way. Too bad he always seems to attract the kind of jerk who wants to start a fight, even in a tiny Colorado town where he stops to have a beer. What surprises him when he wins this fist fight, though, is what kind of perks come with the victory.

Tate knows he looks big and strong and that he ought to be able to overthrow the alpha of his tiny, damaged pack. Too bad he’s really more omega than alpha, or even beta, and all he wants it to be a strong wolf’s bottom boy. When the pack tells him about Rand, Tate thinks he might have found the solution to all of his problems. Now he just has to convince Rand to stay.

I'll post a sexy snippet later!

XXOO

Julia

Moose! Or how I decided to write a weremoose for Santa's sleigh

I was sitting around in June or so, thinking, I wonder what the theme will be this year for the Changeling Christmas Hot Flashes. I had this amorphous idea of a Santa obsessed elf who worked in sleigh engineering... So I emailed Publisher M and said, hey. And she said, OMG. The theme is reindeer games.

See, the other boy was a weremoose who wanted to be in on the reindeer games...

So, yeah. I was onto something. Like psychically. So I wrote it. It's funny. Cute. Silly and hot. It's a top 20 bestseller on All Romance!

Here's where you get it! You can also get it on ARE and Amazon.

Here's the nummy cover

Merry xmoose y'all

Julia

Yum

Pumpkin muffins with maple frosting. Hello December!

Xxoo 

Julia 

Xmoose is coming

what do you get when you mix a Santa-obsessed elf with a moose shifter? Well, Merry X-Moose, naturally

Coming soon from Changeling Press

Check it out here!

XXOO

Julia

what a wonderful time of the year

I have my girl, our friend Sean, my MIL who is a hoot, and we had my stepkid and his wife. We had pie and cookies and turkey and stuffing and rolls and and and

Soon there will be Santa Fe and the tree lighting. The weather is up and down, but we love the seasons.

Best wishes and thanks to all.

Julia

Barreling into Thanksgiving

SO not ready. Ack. O.O

the myth of a homogeneous experience

During a discussion of my last blog post on FB, the assertion came out that the "general you", in this case, a women writing m/m, tends to write "flat, two dimensional characters who in no way resemble gay men".

Now, I'm not going to get into the tired old argument about cross gender writing and whether men should write women or women should write men or what sexual orientation has to do with it. If writers only wrote what they were or what they knew personally, most of the great books and the lion's share of bad ones would never have hit the bookstores, brick and mortar or virtual.

No, what I'm having thoughts about today is the idea of the homogeneous gay man. Or the typical lesbian. Or the typical man or woman.

I'm terrible at sweeping generalizations in everyday life. "Those bitches!" I'll holler at the TV if I'm unlucky enough to see a housewife show when I'm clicking through late night channels, "Oh my God, it's the lesbian prison women! Because all women in prison go lesbian!."

But in my heart of hearts, I know those generalizations are full of caca. There is no such thing as the gay experience, or the lesbian experience or the Disney experience.

There's just people.

See, this is why I was so disappointed in the argument presented to me as, "Well, you have some valid points but I'm person X so I know and you don't, so there." To that particular person, my characters (the general me or specific me, take your pick, as I'm sure he did) may not in any way resemble a gay man.

But to, say, my friend Steve, who's ex-Navy and who had more sex with Marines than he could even remember on any given day, my "sex-crazed maniac erotic romance" resonates with his experience so much that he has me send him my books to beta so he can suggest ever more acrobatic sex. Or there's my old friend Scott, who went to Halloween one year as Pan, and who loves my werewolves and vampires because he's a gamer and thinks those things should exist, damn it.

I have readers who love my contemporaries because the men are just dudes who love dudes, and I have readers who hate that because they want their gay men to be sensitive and open with their feelings. One way or the other, someone may love what I write, and may say "OMG yes that's just like I see things and feel things" or they may hate what I do and say, "No, that's not my experience".

That's totally fine. That's what writing is. But to suggest that because I don't share some mystical connection or mind meld about a whole group of people because I'm not a member of a secret club? Well, that's just an argument you can't win with me, because I know such a thing doesn't exist, God knows, I know a lot of short haired, flannel wearing, clog stomping dykes. That doesn't mean that all lesbians dress, act, or feel the same way I do, and I hope I would never present us all as a shared hive mind.

In other news, it snowed! We got our Thanksgiving snow early!

Now, that's something to be tickled about

XXOO

Julia

Objectification, Divisiveness and One Author Calling Bullshit

It seems like there always has to be a kerfluffle in the writing world. Especially in romance. I happen to be very active in the m/m romance community, even though I write all genres and genders of romance, so I see these explosions daily.

The latest is an anonymous article about the objectification of gay men by romance women. You can read it here.

I have lots of feels here and I will try to list them in a relatively coherent way, off the cuff as this is. I may not achieve literary crit greatness here, but bear with me.

One, I find the argument in the article specious at best if you take the first lines as the premise of the whole commotion.

"As a gay man, the M/M Romance genre makes me extremely uncomfortable.

A lot of women in the genre, both readers and authors, seem to fetishize physically attractive gay men. Not all women in the genre are like that, but a substantial amount."

Hmmm. Because het romance readers never fetishize hot het men. Because before m/m conventions had go go dancers there were never Ellora's Cavemen flexing their muscled, oiled bods at RT. As the former owner of the first exclusively GLBT romance publisher, I can tell you long before we had naked waiters at the UK meetup there were hot cover models carrying mermaid dressed authors across the stage at the Fairy Court ball. Romance is about the fantasy. Period. The article fails to address this.

Second, as the L in LGBT, let me talk about how straight men have objectified my "people" for decades. Do we even get romance novels? No, we get bad porn reels with big boobed porn ladies pretending to be into one another, all for men to enjoy as a fantasy. Because most of us lezzies of a certain age have never seen our partners look like that...

I'd also like to note that the pics accompanying the anonymous post are more likely to be found on a gay porn site than a m/m author's FB and are there for shock value. Here's more what I see on my facebook and on m/m book covers. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=505808079586315&set=a.248987658601693.1073741828.100004713810507&type=3&theater

Am I saying this guy is 100% wrong? No. Am I calling bullshit? Yes.

On the eve of a gay man being appointed Director at Large of RWA, what I see in this article is divisiveness.

Yep. There's the go-go dancer groping commentary. I've seen both genders and all sexual preferences do this at all kinds of events. Do I love it? No. In fact, my main objection to sexy male models parading around at cons is largely feminist. If I would object to a woman being viewed that way, I have to give equal time to the guys. But that's my issue, and I don't go if I don't want to see it. The porn fest masquerading as lit is another comment in the article. This is causing authors to defend romance. It's not all sex! they say. Sex is bad! Bullshit again. You don't like erotic romance? Don't read it. But don't tell me it's not valid, and that het romance doesn't do the same thing. Listen to Can Johnson talk at a panel about alpha alpha heroes and tell me het romance is any less interested in the heat.

Romance is a valid genre, with a huge, diverse following. We don't need divisiveness and we don't need all the tired old accusations of objectification just because our genre is mostly about women taking their sexuality into their own hands. As a m/m romance author, I think my genre is also about acceptance and love, because many a reader has told me they didn't believe in gay rights until they read a m/m romance. How can that be bad? Own what you read and what you write, and sure, fight for understanding and equality. But don't try to blame all the ills of the world on a go go dancer and a couple of smokin' hot novels... I'll call bullshit.

XXOO

Julia

can't keep up

I feel like I'm drowning in my lack of social media.

Send minions

Or houseboys

A Halloween Emergency story

So, Halloween went well. Candy all handed out by 8:30. Our friends Bessie and Matt stopped by with their kids. The dogs were calm. We had a lovely fire in the fireplace.

Then at bedtime, one of us took 37 units of short acting insulin instead of long acting Lantus...

O.O

BA is type one diabetic. I'm type two. We both take Long acting insulin, and she takes 3-4 shots a day of short acting. We keep the bottles in separate places and they're different sizes, but when you've had as long a day we had yesterday, it's easy to make mistakes.

The good? No one died. We called 911 as the doctor told us to in such a sitch. The EMTs said hospital for monitoring was voluntary. After our glorious stint in the ER Wednesday, we took option 2. Testing every 10-30 minutes for 2-3 hours and lots of juice and rice. After the first harrowing hour of plummeting blood sugars, it evened out. By 4am we went to sleep without setting an alarm to wake us to test.

No lasting harm. But man. Don't do that, y'all

XXOO

Julia

Minerva Howe? what the heck?

I know I've told y'all who Minerva Howe is before now. She's me! She's my kinkier, BDSMier side.

If you've been following along, you know I have two books out as Minerva right now. Chosen Wolf and Found Vampire are both biting, spanking, dubious consent in no no yes do me kind of way books out from Resplendence Publishing. They're both m/m, and they sort of walk the line between lifestyle BDSM and paranormal D/s.

My newest release, out tomorrow with Samhain Publishing, runs right over the line into BDSM as a life choice. It's also a mmf historical 1790s femme domme.

Oh. y'all, I'm so proud of this. It's a true menage, with all three characters needing each other to be complete. It's smokin' hot, and full of all sorts of dominance play by both femme domme Felice and cool as a cucumber Simon. Matthias the sub burns so bright with need. I love them all so much, and I hope you do, too.

The path to love isn’t always a straight line. Sometimes it’s a triangle.

When Simon realizes his dearest friend is in real trouble with gambling, whoring and daredeviling, he hits on the perfect solution: provide Matthias with an outlet for his self-destructive urges. While Simon would be more than willing to take on the task himself, Matthias has always fought their “unnatural” attraction.

As London’s Mistress of Discipline, Felice Grey wears her independent and scandalous reputation with confidence. She’ll take on Matthias for one night as a favor to Simon—even break her own rules to let Simon watch. She never expected that Matthias’s struggle against his feelings for Simon would touch her heart, or that she’d feel drawn to both men. Especially since Simon’s dominant nature makes it unlikely he’ll bend to her will.

Simon, barely surviving the night’s session, withdraws to his country estate in hopes that his two favorite people will find each other. Felice and Matthias must make a decision—let happiness fall by the wayside, or pursue it—and damn the risk.

Find it here!

bad blogger too sad to post

been down this week. Lots of bad news in the writing world and lots of people I know directly, personally affected. Sad and tired. I'll try to get back to it this weekend as I have a new release next week at Samhain under my Minerva Howe BDSM name!

XXOO

Julia

The Tortuga Talbot household in D & D

Chaotic neutral BA 

Lawful good Sonny

Chaotic good Julia 

Lawful evil Sadie 

costumes I wish I could wear

I always wanted to be one of those curvy girls who could wear skinny. You know what I mean. Put on a corset and look like am Old West painting or a Victorian wet dream.

Sadly, I'm more... big all over. Tall. Broad where a broad should be broad, to quote Vicky Bliss, but also squishy. So, here's an ode to all the costumes I wish I cold rock for Halloween and can't

The saloon girl. No one wants to see this much of my 45 year old skin stuffed into a corset and fishnets. Trust me.

The Georgian lady. Ah, y'all. Side panniers. Powdered wigs. Dangerous Liaisons. I love this look. I do not have the stomach for a stomacher. Nor do I have the boobs for conical stays. I wish. Oh, how I wish.

damn you Marie Antoinette

Any superheroine.

when I was wee I wanted to be Wonder Woman. I thought she was stunning. She had an invisible plane! But alas, I am not built for a star spangled leotard.

I have rocked a gypsy, a ghost, a gargoyle and a witch, though!

XXOO

Julia

halloween season

today's movie count

The Awakening- 4 stars

Twixt - 1 1/2 stars

Haunter - 3 1/2 stars

I never used to watch scary movies. Action adventure, sure. The Mummy? Absolutely. Real horror? No way.

I would have nightmares. I was always kind of scared of the dark.

Then I met my wife, who convinced me there's nothing there in the dark that's not there in the day. Okay, that was kinda terrifying to begin with but I figured it out. Grins. Every once in awhile something will still scare me but now it's in a good way. Sometimes we need to be frightened so we remember how good we have it every day.

So far, nothing today has been scary. Clever, yeah. Really bad in one case. But not scary.

It's still two weeks until Halloween ;)

XXOO

Julia

the life of a basset

Wake up mom

Bark a lot at the kids walking to school

Dentistick snack

Bark

Sleep

have a few kibbles

bark

Fart

A lot

Sleep

supper

walk

chew

Sleep

Night!

the worst movie in a long while

yep

BA and I are trying to watch one new to us movie. Today we watched 1303. It's a horror bit about a haunted apartment.

OMG y'all, this was terrible. It had Rebecca DeMornay and Mischa Barton so we thought, hey, not bad. No. No, this was the WORST.

Incomprehensible. Poorly written. Badly acted. By the end no one cared.

We gave it one star on Netflix.

So, what movies would y'all rec?

XXOO

J

writing on days I don't want to

Some days I just don't feel like writing.

Take today, for instance. BA and I try to get up at 7 am so we can start writing days. We write from 7 to noon, and from 12:45 to 5 ish. A lot of times 3:30 to 5 is spent in edits, social media and more, but sometimes if one of us is in hard deadline, we keep going.

Today I wanted to sleep until 9 or 10. I wanted pancakes for breakfast. (I settled for a Jimmy Dean eggwhite and turkey sausage bowl). And today I want to work on a miniature crazy quilt for a dollhouse and watch Sherlock.

But, since I write for a living, I'm here at my computer, alternating fiction with blog posts. Romance is, well, romantic, but writing is work. My wife always answers the "How do you deal with writer's block?" by explaining that the mortgage has to be paid. That's so true. Even writers have days where they want to call in sick or disinterested.

So, I'll put off my crazy quilt until 5 and write about moose shifters.

Because I'm a writer, and that's how I roll.

XXOO

Julia

where have all the cowboys gone?

this is a question for stock photographers, because I know cover artists can only choose pics that they have access to.

So I ask. Why do we have all these Guido types with spray tans and bandannas under their redneck straw or leather hats doing the armpit sniffing pose?

Now, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Guidos, spray tans, or fitness models. But when I have to help my wife, who writes a very specific brand of Texas cowboy, find a cover model, I want, well, a cowboy.

There's an old song by Conway Twitty, called Don't Call Him a Cowboy (Until You've Seen Him Ride). In this case don't slap a hat on a guy with no shirt on and call him a cowboy.

See, there are all sorts of cowboy hats from the low crown Texas straw Stetson, to the high crown, curly brim high mountain hat. They all have a few things in common, though. They come in felt or straw. They do not come in leather. They are not worn by celebrities like Toby Keith or Bret Michaels. They are not bought in a tourist shop at Myrtle Beach or at the Margaritaville in NOLA.

As a side note, the redneck leather hat that most closely resembles a civil war cavalry hat is what the slimy, jerk of an ex used to wear and call it a cowboy hat, and is never, ever an appropriate hat for a BA Tortuga cover. Ever. Julia would rather bash herself in the head than see it on a cover, thanks.

A real cowboy hat can be bought at a western wear store, a rodeo, and in some states, Wal-Mart. Approved manufacturers include Stetson, Resistol, Justin, Larry Mahan and many, many more.

I am begging for real cowboys to come back into style. They're hot. Trust me.

XXOO

Julia

A story about my Mom

We went to an estate sale today during our mad yard sale run into Old Town. BA and I love weird and wonderful stuff, and today at yard sales we got a bizarre hanging chandelier for our dining room to replace the generic wal mart model our predecessors hung. At the estate sale, we got a frankly odd table with an oval top and two tiny shelves on the bottom. Maybe a candle stand with a place for a tinderbox? Maybe a lamp table with a place for oil? It has little metal claw feet, which makes me so happy.

Anyway, estate sales are little glimpses into someone's life, and today the gentleman in question made me think of my mom. He was a military man, so there were uniforms and foot lockers and more than 20 years of insignia. He made wooden toys, soldiers mostly, but he had some trucks and cars, wooden toys for smaller kids.

Mom loved her Army days, would have retired if she could have, but back then women got married and pregnant and they got an honorable discharge. She made wooden toys for years, loving it when a little kid latched on to a car or a truck and wouldn't let go.

The biggest thing that hit me today, though, was the workshop the man had set up. There was a workbench (sadly a built in and not for sale) that made me think of all the hours my mom spent out in the garage with the dog, sitting on her stood in front of her workbench. She'd have a cigarette dangling out of her mouth, a block of wood in her hand that she would turn into something amazing. I spent a lot of time in her various shops over the years, sanding parts, gluing in pegs. She would chat with me, or we'd sing with the radio or we'd just work, but we were content to spend time together. The smell of sawdust and wood glue will always make me think of her.

XXOO

Julia

New Release- Emerald Eyes

Oh, y'all.

It's been a long time since I visited Club Bloodrose.

I mean really. I started this series eons ago with what is, chronologically, the second book. The Werewolf Code. In that book, which intros a werewolf named Deke and a vampire named Kasey, a terrible mutation is being introduced to make people into werewolves. Deke mentions he and Kasey met at a BDSM style slave auction at a club, and all the readers said, what? We want to see this.

So I wrote An Itch to Scratch, which introduces Jonny, owner of Bloodrose. Yummy.

Then, in Belling the Cat, Jonny meets his match in a panther shifter named Luc. I admit now that I was in a hurry to finish that one to fill a slot someone else left gaping open at the publisher (which was my business back then) and if I had been a reader when that book came out, I'd be seriously pissed ;)

After a few more stories in Bloodrose, and several offshoot books about Cereus, Jonny's paranormal resort, y'all finally yelled loud enough.

Emerald Eyes is the sequel to Belling, and catches up with Luc and Jonny, as well as Luc's twin brother, Yves, and his new bodyguard, Reuben...

Yeah, it's really entwined. This book really explores Luc's life, making Yves the star, but digging into Jonny and Luc's relationship with Deke and Kasey, as well. I hope to continue that arc in Cereus at some point soon.

Here's the deets.

Get Emerald Eyes here!

This week, Belling is on sale 20% off, as are the Bloodrose shorts.

When Jonny, the owner of club Bloodrose finds out his shifter mate Luc has a twin brother, he decides Yves needs protection from the bad guys who have tried to kill Luc. He sends Reuben, a werewolf security agent, to keep Yves safe from the killers. And from Yves himself.

Reuben has never met someone as determined to find trouble as Yves. The guy has this obsession with a set of emeralds, a dead younger brother, and some kind of demon ritual. All of this should make panther shifter Yves a bad bet as a mate, but that doesn't keep Reuben from falling hard. Can he and team Bloodrose keep everyone alive long enough to convince Yves they're made for each other?

Author note: While the story can stand alone, this book is best when read as a sequel to Belling the Cat.

XXOO

Julia

Julia's Best Travel Tips

I love to travel. I go anywhere I can, anytime I can. I've traveled both domestically and abroad. I love Malaga and London, hate NYC and Atlanta. I have been in cabs and on trains, have been dragged across Rome with a man named Orlando carrying my suitcase and I've eaten squid ink pasta in Venice and gluten free Falafel and pita in Portland. Over the last fifteen years I've learned some great tips for having a good trip.

Don't go with someone you don't get along with pretty well. I've been to Italy 3 times, and every time there was one person who dragged down the fun level. Now, that's not to say anyone was a jerk, but if you don't see museums at the same speed or if one person wants to shop and sun on the beach and the other wants to hit historical sites and sights, you're gonna have a problem. I can't wait to go to Italy with my wife. We travel well together.

Don't get into the cab with the crazy Russian driver. I learned this in LA. Our party split into two cabs and BA and I got the crazed man who decided it was a competition. He damned near killed us. However, we have found that if you get a cabbie who will chat with you then talk! Don't just sit there. We've learned all about 1950s French Quarter NOLA, downtown Pittsburgh during the steel era, how thw Queen's Guard in London all learn to talk through closed lips so they can pick up women, and how police work pays in Houston, TX. From carriage drivers we've learned that they used to use homing pigeons to get football scores to the newspaper in Texas, that mules are more surefooted on cobblestones than horses and that the bull fighting ring in Malaga Spain is their pride and joy.

Pay for the better hotel. Don't stay in a cheap hotel. Get the best one you can afford. Not luxury, unless you're into that, but a good, clean, comfortable hotel. After a long day of walking about, the last thing you want is to come back to a gross bed and nasty carpets. Do your research online, make sure the hotel has the amenities important to you. Pool? Beach access? Room service? Gluten free food. You don't have to compromise in this competitive day and age.

Eat and travel and expect things like a local. I can't tell you how many people I've seen say, "This isn't like home." Lord, people go all over the world and eat McDonald's. Seriously, y'all. Bust out. Don't eat the menu touristica, as they say in Italy. Wander off the beaten path. Try the weird seafood soup. Go to the food truckk court. See the real.

There's so much more, but I'm out of time.

Hugs

xxoo

Julia

my favorite Coastal Magic Authors

We all fangirl, right? Some of my favorite authors will be at Coastal Magic Con in February.

Carrie Ann Ryan, Christopher Rice, Shayla Black...

Yeah. bestsellers, much.

Still, some of my faves, who are also bestsellers, are people I feel lucky enough to call friends.

Andrew Grey. I met Andrew at either Authors After Dark or GRL in New Orleans. Sorry, babe, I can't remember which. He was there when BA and I got engaged, and this summer he spent a week with us in Texas, meeting all the family. He writes lovely romances and yummy adventures and he's a genuinely good guy.

Kiernan Kelly. I've known K for 10 years. I published her first book. She's hilarious, fiercely loyal, and insanely talented.

TC Blue. Tis has been in my life almost as long as Kiernan. She's honest, wicked snarky, and will give you the shirt off her back. She spent an entire convention after BA went gluten free providing my girl with free Kind Bars just so she could have food.

Damon Suede. I met Damon in New Orleans at AAD. We bonded over literary theory in romance. He was sweet enough to dance with me though I had a terribly injured foot. He sweats, but so do I. He's my wife's evil gay twin.

Sean Michael. What can I say. This will be Sean's first public con. O.O Sean introduced me to my wife, and I have known this freakishly cool Canadian since 2000. Fifteen years. Whoa.

BA Tortuga is my wife. We got married in June last. We got engaged at a romance con. We got together over a romance publishing house. I couldn't do it without her. And she's a hell of a writer.

Come see us all at Coastal Magic in February! Click here to go see the website!

XXOO

Julia

My favorite beaches- Coastal Magic theme week

Hey y'all!

I'm getting promo together for Coastal Magic in February. why now, you ask? Well, it's February 4-7. Starting in October, we have trips and guests and holidays and birthdays and BOOM. It will be here.

Since it's in Daytona, I thought I would share my favorite beaches.

Myrtle Beach. Oh lord, y'all, I spent time here as a kid. Dad loved the beach, and he would take us down in April or October just when the off season was ripe. We'd collect shells and play games on the boardwalk and -- hey do they still have the dinosaur goony golf?

Ocean City, Maryland and Chincoteague Island, VA

I spent summers here as a teen, staying in my best friend's parents' RV and eating crabs and shrimp, swirled chocolate vanilla soft serve and fries with malt vinegar. We'd go bay fishing and watch the ponies and ride bikes all over the place.

Anything in the Bahamas or St Marteen. Blue water, white sand, umbrella drinks. Hoo yeah.

The promenade at Malaga, Spain. Orange and olive trees. Horse drawn carriages. Okay, so there's not much beach and a lot of big ships, but I love it.

The tiny beach at Turbatt's Creek, Kennebunkport, Maine. A glass of wine, a rocky beach in Maine, and an old lighthouse in the distance.

Coastal Magic will be my first beach in Florida. I've only been to Orlando. Eeee.

Come see us! Click here for website!

XXOO

Julia

Author Burnout

In this day and age, in order for an author to stay current, we must produce a lot of work. Not just writing books. We have to do blogs and Twitter and Facebook and Google Plus and Instagram and conventions and signings...

Yeah, you get the picture.

Now, I could complain, but I love my job, so here's how I combat the three major areas of Author Burnout. Writer's block, editing freakout, and social media fatigue.

Note: These are my cures. Feel free to comment and tell me yours!

Writer's block is something I rarely suffer from. I get stymied on one story, I just move on to another for a bit. Still, there are times when I really get myself in a bind, write myself into a corner and have to stop for a bit. That's when I pull out one of two tried and true techniques. One is to take a notebook (analog, folks. no tech here) and go to a coffee shop. Somehow going longhand and old school makes a different part of my brain kick in, and I often find I can get back on the horse. The other thing I try it just getting out of the house. No work, no notebook, nothing. Just turn the sound off on my phone and get going, out to dinner or to a museum or anything that gives me a new experience and people to watch. We forget how solitary we are sometimes, working alone at a keyboard. If you write romance, you have to see how people interact sometimes... Just go.

Editing freakout. OMG this is the one I am most guilty of, y'all. When you're a published author, you may have a book coming out in October, February and March and have them all in edits at the same time. Content edits, line edits, final line edits... It gets dizzying. Now, I thank God for my editors every day. I love that they make my books better. But after a pile of edits slashing through your prose, your characters, your plot, I start to take it personally. It's simply human nature. I begin to freak out. I troll Goodreads and Amazon obsessing over any bad reviews that prove I suck. It's a downward spiral.

This is when I step away from being an author for an hour. I read a book that is not mine. I call my brother because at this point my wife is either like "Let's kill them all!" or "Oh, would you shut UP". Sometimes I vaguebook, I admit, but that's always a bad idea.

What I find works the best is another creative hobby. This is why so many writers knit and crochet and color adult coloring books. I pick something quick, a project I can finish in a day, like a dishcloth. Boom Instant sense of accomplishment. Sometimes the editing process seems never ending, but a nice chunky yarn scarf? No one critiques that.

Finally, there's social media fatigue. Even though we all live in the electronic age, authors are essentially introverts. The constant pressure to stay in the public eye means we need to be out there writing blogs and doing tours, Facebook posts, Twitter, and a host of new social sites popping up means a writer can not only be utterly swamped, but it means I can waste a lot of time I should be writing surfing the Oatmeal or Grumpy Cat.

I know a lot of authors who cope with the inundation of social media by using a service like HootSuite to schedule their social media and do it all once a week.

I pass no judgement on this, but it doesn't work for me. I find spontaneity important in the little social details I share, and I like to post about 85% about something not my books so no one feels overwhelmed with promo. So what I do is schedule my days. I look at my author Facebook max 3 times a day. I may only post once, then read and like other people's posts, but I try hard to limit my surfing. I get free phone apps that help me post pictures to Twitter, Instgram and Tumblr. These apps, like Word Swag, help me create interesting content from regular phone pics. I pick a theme for the week. This week all my Pinterest pins for work relate back to a WIP about a spa owner who runs a GLBT friendly hotel. Just jotting down the theme for the week, the blog posts I need to make, and the places I need to touch each week on Sunday keeps me from feeling completely overwhelmed.

Please share any coping strategies you use with me!

XXOO Julia

wordless wednesday

First world problems the tech edition

went to upgrade my phone today. I need an up to date smart phone for my writing business, frankly, and my camera has to be up to par to support my destashing through Ebay and Artfire. (PM me on Facebook for links to jewelry and yarn etc)

So, we go to the ATT store. Did we forget to update our phones? Yes we did, so we had to do it there. Three hours later we've updated, upgraded, and grocery shopped in between, and are home. Do I have a phone? No. It's plugged in trying to upgrade to the new OS, which, you know, I think should be on the damned phone already. It's taking hours, y'all. because I made the mistake of trying to download all my darned apps at the same time.

If I ever get to use use my new phone I'm sure I'll love it.

When I get this frustrated, I remind myself that I can afford to shop at an organic co-op and upgrade my phone on an installment plan...

XXOO

Julia

I was going to do TBT but it's Friday

but I can't find any pics on this machine

Sigh. And my dropbox only has new stuff

So I'll tell a story instead.

When I first met my wife in person, I went to Texas in February or March and melted. They took me to Chuy's and we waited outside forever and I melted some more. I was dying. Colorado at that time of year is a tough one. Colorado: 40 degrees. Texas: 68

See, in Texas, spring comes on Valentine's Day.

My wife came to visit me the first time in October in Colorado. It was lovely. 70 and sunny the whole time until the last day. Then it rained and the high was 58.

She about died.

Now we've been in Albuquerque for 2 years. This is our third fall. Yes, despite the 85 degree highs, it's fall. How do I know? BA broke out her jeans yesterday. She loves the seasons now, and it looking forward to cooler weather. Now when we go to Texas? She's the one who melts.

XXOO

Julia

What I'm reading right now - Late summer edition

What I'm reading this week.

I just bought my first Brandon Shire book. I'm a sucker for blind stories, and this one says it's a blind gay romance. Afflicted, I think the title is. I will let y'all know how it goes!

I've been re-reading my old Jo Beverly books. I do love her Rogues and her Mallorens. I started a historical. It's her fault.

I've also been reading my get organized storage magazine O.O

What are y'all up to? Rec me, people, or I'll just keep getting free books on Bookbub and not reading them.

XXOO

Julia